


Light at the End of the Day

by Bigimotik



Series: Reaching Across the Milky Way [3]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Drama, F/M, Inu Youkai (InuYasha), Pining, Post-Canon, Romance, Sad, Separations, Time Travel, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:35:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24960916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bigimotik/pseuds/Bigimotik
Summary: No one can escape the passage of time, not even a youkai as great as Sesshomaru. When everyone is gone, when the world is no longer what it once was, is there any rest for ones who remained behind? Part 3 of Reaching Across the Milky Way.
Relationships: Rin/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)
Series: Reaching Across the Milky Way [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/461428
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	Light at the End of the Day

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequal to my longer story about Rin and Sesshoumaru: Reaching Across the Milky Way.

**Epilogue**

The city hummed with the hustle and bustle of cars cruising down the roads, of people chattering during dusk-time strolls, of the signs blinking and twinkling with energy. Fragments of information crossed invisibly through the air, on the fringes of perception.

Far above the whirlpool of human interaction, on the edge of a cliff, stood a lone figure, contrasting against the remaining vestiges of light as the sun slipped beneath the treeline.

Sesshomaru observed the final fragments of the sunset glinting off of the glass and the metal of modern civilization. In a way, it could be considered beautiful.

But then the buzz of information crossing invisibly on the air rang in his ears, the smell of industrial exhaust filled his nose, and the temporary bubble of tranquility burst. A cough rasped in his throat and he turned back to the sanctuary of the forest.

Or at least, what was left of it.

What once was a thriving, lush span of trees, had slowly receded as humans and their innovation and their structures encroached on the natural world. As the woods retreated, so did the creatures, and with them, the _youkai_ , slowly, but surely into obscurity.

Some chose to abandon the human world, to return to the realms forgotten by people. Others remained, to see their kind into the future.

That had been his promise to her: watch over their children. This became a promise to their grandchildren and their children and their children's children. But each generation was shorter than the last as the demon blood washed from their veins, and the family lines faded.

Now there was only him. Just a demon with wrinkles, a thinning face, framed with hair that had dulled from his once brilliant silver into a gray.

A sudden twinge on the edge of his perception drew his attention. Tilting his head, he was able to get a better sense for where it was coming from. He turned his feet in that direction.

The call brought him down quiet back streets, away from the town center. Threading through little lanes long disused until he reached a flight of stone stairs. A ruined set of template arches barely stood, red paint peeling, with water damage.

He knew this place. It was a place that had since emptied of anyone he cared about by the time he came to know it. Still, it was a place he had visited several times before, back when he had the mildest hope that the great tree or the well could grant him some peace. But those too, were gone.

A dozen steps, a hundred. Ascending one stair at a time until he reached the top, to a weed covered courtyard. In the darkness, a pale glow beckoned to him, past the stump of the great tree.

As he rounded the corner, he stopped. Decades ago, there were only splinters. Yet there it was: the wooden well, emitting the blue light that had only appeared for his brother and the priestess. It was a calming, dark blue that was as deep as the ocean and as yawning as the stars in the sky.

Past the indigo, his aging sensitivities could detect the whisper of leaves and the scent of life. He jumped into the void.

Bursting from the well, he could see everything as he hung in the sky. The land is dark, darker than he had experienced in an age. In the distance, flickering fires of a festival in full swing married with the light from the moon. His heart swelled with a painful pang: the machinery, the people, all absent.

This was the land he knew, the land that he loved.

A small figure passed beneath him, making their way into the forest. His nose twitched from a familiar smell he had not experienced in centuries: Rin.

He watched with distant curiosity as the young woman in an exquisite kimono - one he was ashamed to admit he did not remember gifting - strode to a glassy lake. Quietly observed as she spoke to her own reflection and brushed away a few crumbs from her face.

It was so strange, as though seeing a memory, yet not one that he remembered. He landed and ducked behind a tree.

"There you are; I've been looking all over the festival for you. Why are you out here?" Kohaku trotted into the clearing.

Rin stood to join her friend. "I was just doing some thinking."

"That's new for you, isn't it?" Sesshomaru resisted the urge to smile, recalling his own days of teasing.

"You're so mean!" The girl danced a few steps ahead. "Now, where are those almond cakes you promised?"

He sighed. "You caught me. I didn't actually buy you any." Her response was to swat his arm.

"I think you need to fix that immediately!"

Their voices faded away, leaving the field quiet once again. A few moments later, Sesshoumaru stepped out from where he had been watching before lazily floating up into the moonlit sky.

The summer breeze ruffled his hair and fur; he reveled in physical and emotional feelings that he believed to have discarded. Thus he traveled, experiencing the wilderness for as long as possible, until his strength began to fail. Then, and only then, did he drop down to the ground and find a nice spot, not too far from the village, to rest against a tree.

Ah, it was so comfortable, with the strength of a hundred year old trunk supporting his frail back and his fur arranged around him. Everything was soft and peaceful.

His eyes were getting heavy and when he opened them, a little girl in a ragged orange kimono stood before him: dirty, offering him a yellow flower. The smile on her face remained the most brilliant thing he'd ever seen, even after all these years.

He reached out to take one of the spectral blossoms, but as he did the image of the girl wavered and faded away, as did his surroundings, leaving him alone in the dark, with nothing but air in his hands. In full knowledge of what was coming, he allowed himself to smile - just this once - while he closed his eyes.

With a final, gentle breath, Sesshomaru said, " _Tadaima." I'm home._

Then there was silence.

From beyond the land, past the sky and the stars in all of space and time came a welcoming light.

" _Okaeri." Welcome home._

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Thank again, readers, for joining me on this journey. This is definitively the end of the Reaching Across the Milky Way series. I hope you enjoyed it all the way to the end.


End file.
